Richard T. Silberman, once the top aide to former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., sat face to face with FBI agents in a San Diego hotel room, his reputation and his freedom in jeopardy. Federal agents had detained him on suspicion of laundering money that an undercover agent had characterized as profits from an illegal narcotics deal.

A federal appeals court ruled Monday that the nation's first "roving wiretaps," which led to the convictions of reputed mobster Chris Petti and prominent San Diego businessman Richard T. Silberman, were legal. Affirming Petti's conviction on felony charges of money laundering, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday there was no merit to defense contentions that the roving taps violate a criminal suspect's constitutional right to privacy.

James Brosnahan, representing Richard T. Silberman, enjoys a fine reputation as a defense attorney from San Francisco. Mr. Silberman's guilt or innocence will be determined in court. I look forward to Brosnahan's performance there as an attorney, once he finishes playing as a public relations agent. PHIL HART San Diego

Forging new legal ground, a federal appeals court ruled Monday that the nation's first use of "roving wiretaps," which led to the convictions of reputed mobster Chris Petti and prominent San Diego businessman Richard T. Silberman, was legal. Affirming Petti's conviction on felony charges of money-laundering, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday there was no merit to defense contentions that the roving taps violate a criminal suspect's constitutional right to privacy.

A Ventura County investment broker was sentenced to six months in federal prison for his role in an alleged money-laundering scheme that prosecutors contend was directed by San Diego financier Richard T. Silberman. Terry Ziegler, 45, of Moorpark was ordered to surrender July 26. He had pleaded guilty two months ago to a single felony count.

Malibu investment banker Jack Norman Myers, accused of being a courier in a money-laundering scheme allegedly directed by San Diego businessman Richard T. Silberman, pleaded guilty in federal court to one criminal count in the complex case. Under a plea bargain struck as jury selection in Silberman's trial neared completion, Myers agreed to testify against Silberman, who once served as a top aide to former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., and to back up his testimony with corroborating documents.

A federal prosecutor has accused Richard T. Silberman of violating a gag order barring participants in his money-laundering case from making characterizations about witnesses. Assistant U.S. Atty. Charles F. Gorder Jr. said Wednesday that Silberman should be punished for the alleged infraction.

A federal judge Monday set a Jan. 16 trial date for the complex money-laundering case involving San Diego businessman Richard T. Silberman, reputed mobster Chris Petti and two others. Judge J. Lawrence Irving also scheduled legal motions for October and November, as well as the exchange of evidence and pretrial hearings in the case, in which the defendants are charged with putting together an elaborate scheme to hide money they believed came from illegal Colombian drug sales. The money was actually from an undercover FBI agent.

If it matters. * Signs of the times. Caltrans has no plans to replace the sign on the Richard T. Silberman Bridge over Interstate 15. Souvenir hunters took the signs soon after Silberman's criminal problems, and Caltrans figures new signs would only suffer a similar fate. * A bridge too far? Speaking of the Silberman sign, it can now be revealed that the sign played a tiny role in the drug-money laundering case that landed him in the federal can.

With a deadlocked jury and without a verdict, the double-murder trial of La Jolla socialite Elisabeth Anne (Betty) Broderick leaves an emptiness hard to describe, a juror in the case said. "I'm disappointed it ended the way it did," with two jurors seeking a manslaughter conviction and 10 urging a murder finding in the killings of Broderick's ex-husband and his second wife, juror Michael A. (Mickey) Byrd, 39, of Rancho Bernardo said after a mistrial was declared in the case Tuesday.

Richard T. Silberman, sentenced last week to 46 months in federal prison for his role in a money-laundering scheme, was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine amid disclosure that the once-wealthy San Diego financier owes more than $1.5 million in legal fees. Despite Silberman's whopping debts, which total at least $2.1 million, U.S. District Judge J.

Saying strict new federal sentencing guidelines had taken much of the fun out of his job, U.S. District Court Judge J. Lawrence Irving announced Wednesday he is leaving the bench. Irving, 55, who has drawn a succession of high-profile cases, including financier Richard T. Silberman's recently concluded money-laundering case, said he plans to notify President Bush today that he will resign effective Dec. 31.

Richard T. Silberman, onetime governor's aide and wealthy financier, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison Monday after saying he was sorry he had laundered cash he believed was drug money. In imposing the sentence, U.S. District Judge J. Lawrence Irving said it was gratifying to hear Silberman express remorse for the first time in the complex case.

In a plea bargain expected to be completed in federal court today, financier Richard T. Silberman has agreed to plead guilty to a single felony count of conspiring to launder cash that was represented to him as drug money, sources said Thursday. As part of the agreement, Silberman, 61, a onetime aide to former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr.

Richard T. Silberman, once the top aide to former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., sat face to face with FBI agents in a San Diego hotel room, his reputation and his freedom in jeopardy. Federal agents had detained him on suspicion of laundering money that an undercover agent had characterized as profits from an illegal narcotics deal.